Sunday, January 21, 2007
A Journey Outside My Comfort Zone
Well, Monday begins a journey outside my comfort zone. I'm heading to the Abby of Gethsemani south of Bardstown from Monday - Friday for a retreat. The website for the abby is www.monk.org. To say that a Trappist monastery is quiet is an understatement. This is a retreat 'away' from life. No TV, no phones, no newspapers, no Internet access. It's time alone to read, to pray, to study, to think. Being a social person this is going to be a challenge. But a good one! Being alone with myself and God sounds like a really interesting experience. So, we'll post later on to tell everyone how it went!
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4 comments:
In 2004, my buddies and I bicycled several hundred miles between all of the Trappist monasteries in Belgium that still brew beer on site (six of them).
Not the same as a retreat, I guess ...
All the Trappist monasteries do 'something' to make a living. They're noted for great quality food/drink items because they use fresh, good stuff, and all that. Gethsemani makes great cheese, but really awesome fudge laced with bourbon. One of my favorites. I figure that if the retreat doesn't do it I'll eat the 'good' fudge.
John, next time can I go with you? I am a poor man who lives in a house with 3 women. Two of which are expecting. Neither with plans on moving out soon, so that means two cying babies will be added to the mix. You can't get too quiet for me!!
When I was in Thailand, I lived with some Asoke Monks briefly. They lived sustainably and refused to kill anything. This included the red ants that always bit us as we walked barefoot through the countryside. It was an amazing experience. I read about Gethsemani shortly after I returned and thought that it sounded interesting. Please do let us know how it goes.
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